The former Manchester City boss has identified a "lack of confidence" as the issue and admitted last season, much of which was spent fighting against relegation under David Moyes, is weighing on his players' minds.

"Yes, I think so. That's one of the reasons why in the second half we changed so much and tried to keep it 1-0," Pellegrini told reporters.

"I don't think it's the stadium and I don't think it's playing here. What they need is to try work for 90 minutes the way we did for 45 minutes today.

"We knew before we would need time with so many new players, management and style of play. Most of all we need to forget about last season.

"We need to recover the trust in each player and what they can do. We must recover the trust as a club and that's what we must do in the next week."

Bournemouth, in contrast, are enjoying a flying start after collecting a maximum six points from their opening two outings, having beaten Cardiff City 2-0 seven days earlier.